Slot-closing means



Jan. 5, 1932. B. FRY 1,839,843

SLOT CLOSING MEANS Original Filed Jah. 16, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 'l Jan.5, 1932. s. FRY

SLOT CLOSING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jan. 16, 1930Patented Jan. 5, 1932 UNITED. TAT S PATENT OFFICE i BENJAMIN L. FRY, OFST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL SALES MACHINE COMPANY, OF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, A GORPORATION OF MISSOURI,

snor-onosme MEANS Original application filed January 16, 1930, SerialNo. 421,295, and in Canada February 24, 1930. Divided and thisapplication filed ()ctober 14, 1930. Serial No. 488,667.

' column of compartments This. application is a division of anapplication filed by me January 16, 1930, Serial No. 421,295. r

The present invention has for its object the provision of simpleandefficient means Whereby, when all the merchandise in a column ofmerchandise-containing compartments of a vending machine has been sold,the coin tube associated with the column will be closed and theinsertion of coins to effect further sales from the same column "will beprevented until the compartments have been refilled and the closurereturned to itsinitial position. The

invention is illustratedinthe accompanying drawings and consists incertain novel features which will be hereinafter first fully describedand then more particularly defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings: I

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of. so much of aVending machine as is necessary to an understanding of the presentinvention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 83-of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates a portion of acabinet which encloses the operating mechanism and the articles whichare to be vended. At 2 is shown one column of compartments in whicharticles to be vended are placed, said column containing compartments 3each of proper dimensions to receive the particular package or articlewhich is to be vended. It will be understood that the cabinet may beconstructed in any desired size to contain any desired number of columnsand that adjoining columns will be separated by partitions so that eachcolumn will be entirely independent of all the other columns, thepartitions being omitted in the accompanying drawings. The

is formed from sheet metal providing a back Wall 4 and side walls 5, thefront of the column being open and having outturned flanges 6, asclearly shown in Fig. 3. A door or vertically slidable closure 7 extendsthefull height of the column and rests against the preferably frontfaces of the flanges 6, saiddoor or slidmg plate being provided with areentrant' flange 8 along one edge which fits around the adjacent flange6 of the column so as to be guided and held thereby. At the oppositeside, the plate has a rearwardly extending flange 9 which extends pastthe adjacent flange 6 and has a cleat or guide striplO secured'theretoat the rear of'the flange so as to engage behind the same and guide theclosure in its. movements. On its outer side, the flange or lip9isprovided with a plurality of studs or projections 11 which are spacedapart distances corresponding to the heightsofthe several compartmentsin the column. Secured to the framework of the cabinet at the front ofthe closure are bars or vertical strips 12 which coverthe side ,edgesoffthe closure and thereby effectually frustrate attempts to pry theclosure from its guides and thereby obtain unauthorized access to thearticle-containing compartments. 'Adjacent the upper extremity of thedoor or'closure is aforwardly projecting lip or fingerpiece 13 wherebythe 'door may be drawn upwardly into its initial position after theseveral; compartments have beenfilledwith merchandise.

Immediately in advance of the columns of compartments, the cabinet isformed with a shelfv 14 projecting forwardly from the. compartments andin said shelf immediately in front of. each column is formed a coin Slot15 through which coins of the proper denomination may. be inserted toeffect release of a desired article. The several coin slots are sodisposed that a coin-inserted therein will drop at once into a coinchute 16 which will guide the coin to an operating, plunger, 17 andwliichisprovided with means whereby slugs,

, impropercoins or otherspurious devices'wil'l 9 be ejected, the ejecteddevice being directed into a hopper1'9 in the lowerportion of thecabinet while the good coins will be delivered" into another hopperdisposed at the rear of the hopper 19. and separatedtherefronrby apartition 21. These hoppers extend from side to side of the cabinetsothat all the deposited coins will be received by the hoppers anddirected into separate boxes or-other re ceptacles in which theywillzcollect until re:

moved by the owner or custodian of the machine. The particularconstruction of the coin chute is immaterial in the present case and,therefore, a detailed description and illustration of the same isunnecessary.

In the operation of the machine, the closure 7 is moved downwardly witha step by step movement so as to successively uncover the compartmentsin-the column to which it is fitted. On one edge of the door or closure,at the upper end thereof and extending vertically, there is a fin 22which projects laterally from the door or closure behind the adjacentguard strip 12 and is tapered downwardly, as

shown in Fig. 2. Immediately below the shelf 14, there is a transverseangle bar 23 which provides a support for some of the parts andalso'braces the,cabinet. Pivoted upon this cross bar 23 is a valveorstop plate 24 which extends forwardly from the bar and is of such formand dimensions that it may extend across the area of the coin slot 15below the same and thereby prevent the insertion of a coin when theassociated column is empty. The valve or stop plate is provided with adepending lug 25 disposed eccentric to its pivot and a spring 26 isattached to said lug and to some adjacent fixed part of the structure sothat its tendency is to swing the valve into a position away from thecoin slot 15 and out of the path of an inserted coin. The valve is alsoconstructed with a tooth 26' which projects rearwardly from the pivotinto the path of the fin 22, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby, when theclosure approaches the lower limit of its movement and uncovers thelowermost compartment, the stop plate will be rocked so as to beprojected across the coin slot 15. When the closure is restored to itsinitial position, the spring 26 at once swings the valve away from thecoin slot.

Below the column, an angle bar 27 extends across the cabinet and to saidangle bar, adj acent the side of the column, is secured an upstandingguide plate 28 having a vertical slot therein through which is fitted aslide bar 30. Said slide bar extends forwardly and passes through afront guide bracket32 which is secured upon a cross bar 33 in thecabinet in advance of the column and over the hopper. On that side ofthe slide which is presented to the column, there is secured a bracketor plate 34 and a block or cam 36 which cooperates therewith and with ahook or tongue 38 thereon overhanging. the cam block 36. Pivoted Thefront extremity of the slide is connected with the plunger 17 but theplunger is nor mally locked against movement and a retractile spring 53yieldably holds the plunger and slide retracted. A deposited coin ofproper denomination releases the locking mechanism, the coin beingejected during the movement of the plunger and the slide and the lockingmechanism being automatically reset;

when the plunger and the slide return to initial position.

In front of the column of compartments, an opening 68 is provided in thetop of the cabinet which is glazed', as shown at 68, and below which issecured a box 64: containing a sample of the merchandise offered forsale.

Having thus described the invention, I claim: I

In a vending machine, the combination of a vertical column ofcompartments, a door extending across the front ends of all thecompartments to cover the same and operable to successively uncover thecompartments, a shelf in front of the lower end of the column having aslot therein for the insertion of a controlling element, a valve pivotedon the under side of the shelf in position to extend across the slot andclose the same, means to yieldably hold the valve from across the slot,a tooth projecting from said valve toward the vertical movable closure,and a vertically extending fin on theclosure at the upper end thereofadapted to ride across said tooth and actuate the valve to project thesameacross the slot. I

In testimony'whereof I afiix my signature.

BENJAMIN L. FRY. [L. s.]

upon the side of the slide is a dog 40, said v dog, the bracket34 andcam 36 cooperatively engaging the projections to effect descent of theclosure 7, when the slide is reciprocated.

' The slide, of course, cannot be actuated until a coin has beeninserted, and the operation permits the closure ;to descend only farenough to uncover one compartment, whereupon it is locked againstfurther movement until another. coin is deposited.

